In the Darkness Visible: Elk Riders Volume I by Ted Neill

Author:Ted Neill [Neill, Ted]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tenebray Press
Published: 2016-08-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The Guild

Sade and Vondales were destitute again. Even the skiff they had stolen had been taken away. It was late afternoon and the dinner hour was upon them, an expanse of time yawning open and empty as their stomachs. Food, in the form of fish, was plentiful, piled in market stalls all around them, roasting over coals, dripping in oil, and tantalizingly out of reach. With no money and nothing to trade with, they were helpless. Sade thought of pilfering a loaf of bread or a wheel of cheese from a booth, but already he had a look of desperation and shop keepers turned a close eye on him whenever he neared.

As night fell they found themselves beneath the pier, their stomachs painful as they searched for a place to sleep. The rocky shore was littered with empty mussel shells, fish bones, and lime peels. Crabs picked at the rotting carcass of a seal. They found a gap in the seawall where they huddled together, but the cold was unrelenting as the stone beneath them was hard. Vondales slept, for most of his weight was on Sade, but Sade, with the rock pressing beneath him and his limbs shaking from the chill, remained awake. Therefore he heard the footsteps of the boys approaching before he could see them. He hoped they would just pass by, even not notice them, but they instead made straight for the gap where he and his brother were hiding.

There were five of them, their voices distinct with the nasal accent of the island. Their clothes were worn, the colors obscured by grime and the darkness. They gathered around Sade while Vondales slept on. Sade would have moved but his legs had gone numb from his brother’s weight. A tall boy with greasy bangs stepped forward and spoke. “You need to come with us.”

Sade didn’t move. He was not sure with the pins and needles prickling his flesh if he would even be able to stand up. He shook Vondales awake. His brother startled when he saw the other boys. It suddenly felt very crowded beneath the pier.

“Get up, Vondales,” Sade said.

His brother complied and addressed the boy who had spoken. “Who are you?”

“I’m Fin. We’re from the Guild and I’ll say it once more. You need to come with us.”

Sade didn’t know what the Guild was but he had no reason to trust these boys. They had already been taken advantage of by Timos.

“What if we don’t want to,” Sade said, rubbing his legs, hoping that he would be able to spring up and run if needed.

“It’s not an invitation,” a rotund boy said from the flank. He clicked the dagger on his belt in and out of its sheath.

Sade flexed his thighs and straightened his knees. He might be able to get up, but not fight. Not yet, at least. His head was spinning from hunger or the potion Timos and his lady friends had given them. Sade studied the five boys, trying to take each one’s measure.

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